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The state recently banned two sunscreen ingredients that researchers found to be dangerous to coral reefs. Here is what it means for you.
Effective January 1, 2021, Hawaii will prohibit the sale, offering for sale or distribution of any sunscreen containing oxybenzone or octinoxate without a prescription. licensed health care provider. The chemicals could also be labeled as benzophenone-3 and octyl methoxycinnamate, respectively.
Both ingredients help protect the skin from UV rays, but the researchers also found that they also cause discolorations, deformities, damage to the coral DNA when l & # 39; Sunscreen is washed on bathers or is dumped in sewage treatment plants and deposited in water plans. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, coral reefs are vital components of marine ecosystems that protect beaches from erosion and support biodiversity.
Are these ingredients just as dangerous to humans?
Oxybenzone and octinoxate are on the approved active ingredients list for the US Food and Drug Administration's sunscreen.
The official position of the American Academy of Dermatology Association is that "claims that sunscreen ingredients currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration are toxic to the environment or a hazard to human health. Have not been proven. "You can find a list of active ingredients approved by the FDA on the agency's website.
The environmental group's advocacy organization claims that banned ingredients can cause hormonal disruptions and allergic skin reactions.
Both chemicals were also found at toxic levels in fish, sea turtle eggs, algae, dolphins, oysters, crayfish, mussels, and even human breast milk and dolphin, according to Craig Downs, forensic ecotoxicologist. Executive Director of Haereticus Environmental Laboratory and the lead author of the study that propelled Hawaii to ban the ingredients.
Could sunscreen harm the environment even though I am far from Hawaii?
It is more of a local problem. a representative of the Land and Natural Resources Department of Hawaii. Although government officials encourage everyone to use "reef-safe" sunscreens as much as possible, the chances of seeing Montana harm the Hawaiian reefs, for example, are slim.
Although Florida has banned no sunscreen ingredients, the Department of Environmental Protection's Coral Reef Conservation Program is asking divers to avoid using sunscreens with sun protection. Oxybenzone to protect the Florida Reef Tract
says that oxybenzone and octinoxate have been detected in waters all over the world, including Barrow, Alaska. The oxybenzone has a half – life of 2.4 years in the seawater, so that a plume of sewage or water coming from the seawater. a popular bathing area can go downstream and dump into coastal waters.
How could I protect myself from the sun?
You can use sunscreens with ingredients such as zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which place a physical barrier between your skin and the sun and reflect its rays.
The American Academy of Dermatology recommends everyone a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 on the exposed parts of the body each day. Doctors also suggest you stay in the shade when you are outside and wear appropriate clothing, hats and sunglasses.
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